In many situations in the field of data storage employing removable data storage cartridges, protecting and securing data is one concern that must be addressed. For example, one security concern is that someone will steal a removable data storage cartridge and then attempt to access the data. However, it may not be necessary to secure all data. Allowing some data to be unsecured may enhance the performance of the data storage and retrieval process.
A means of securing data is data encryption. For example, data to be encrypted is written to the removable data storage cartridge in an encrypted format, and data that is unsecured is written to the removable data storage cartridge in an unencrypted format. Encrypted format data must be read and decrypted to be usable, whereas unencrypted format data need not. Various encrypted formats and various unencrypted formats are known in the art.
Data storage cartridges are often employed in an automation situation such as an automated data storage library. The encryption may be managed by the library, the system in which the library is a component, or by an application, and may be tailored to specific needs. The encryption may be transparent to the user, that is, done as needed automatically in accordance with established policy.